I Wanted to Like Them More Than I Did.
I really wanted to understand the appeal of Hira and Kiyoi. But across two seasons and a film, their dynamic never gave me what I was waiting for.
Kiyoi I could actually follow. There's something interesting in watching someone who doesn't know how to express feelings slowly learn to do so, and he does show some growth over time. But Hira drove me to distraction — and not in a way the series seemed to intend.
Being shy or insecure isn't the problem. What frustrated me was that Hira never really stops seeing himself as a fan rather than a boyfriend. Even once they're in a relationship, even after Kiyoi explicitly asks him to stop putting him on a pedestal and to treat their relationship as something real and equal — Hira stays stuck. There's something almost deliberately self-diminishing about it, as if Hira has decided that the role of devoted admirer is the only one he's allowed to play, and has no interest in leaving it.
And that's what made watching so exhausting. Not the imbalance itself, but the fact that the series had two seasons and a film to do something with it — and didn't. At a certain point I genuinely started asking myself why Kiyoi would choose to stay in a relationship where his partner refuses to fully accept that they're equals.
And what makes it harder to brush off is how widely this series has been praised. I can see why the premise appeals to people — but a relationship built on this particular dynamic being celebrated as romantic gives me pause.
Kiyoi I could actually follow. There's something interesting in watching someone who doesn't know how to express feelings slowly learn to do so, and he does show some growth over time. But Hira drove me to distraction — and not in a way the series seemed to intend.
Being shy or insecure isn't the problem. What frustrated me was that Hira never really stops seeing himself as a fan rather than a boyfriend. Even once they're in a relationship, even after Kiyoi explicitly asks him to stop putting him on a pedestal and to treat their relationship as something real and equal — Hira stays stuck. There's something almost deliberately self-diminishing about it, as if Hira has decided that the role of devoted admirer is the only one he's allowed to play, and has no interest in leaving it.
And that's what made watching so exhausting. Not the imbalance itself, but the fact that the series had two seasons and a film to do something with it — and didn't. At a certain point I genuinely started asking myself why Kiyoi would choose to stay in a relationship where his partner refuses to fully accept that they're equals.
And what makes it harder to brush off is how widely this series has been praised. I can see why the premise appeals to people — but a relationship built on this particular dynamic being celebrated as romantic gives me pause.
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